Writing and singing ‘Toxic’ was a full-circle moment for me”: Hanita Bhambri on how she manifested working with Vishal Mishra

Independent singer-songwriter Hanita Bhambri has stepped into the world of mainstream cinema with the Yash-starrer Toxic, lending her voice and songwriting to the film’s English track.

Bhambri was initially approached through composer Vishal Mishra’s team to write the English lyrics for the song. However, what began as a songwriting assignment soon turned into a singing opportunity after Mishra heard her voice during a presentation.

“I was initially brought on only to write the lyrics for the song but during the presentation, Vishal Mishra liked my voice so much that he encouraged me to sing it,” Bhambri said.

She recalled how the opportunity eventually reached director Geetu Mohandas. “He called Geetu maam and put her on speaker and I sang the song out loud to her. Upon hearing my voice, she was happy to have me record it,” she added.

For Bhambri, being able to contribute both as a lyricist and vocalist to a film of this scale was a particularly special experience. “As an independent artist, getting to bring my own writing into a film of this scale was a very special opportunity,” she said, describing her first reaction as “a mix of excitement and disbelief.”

Talking about the brief for the song, Bhambri said Mohandas had a clear vision of creating something dark, seductive and dangerous while retaining a grand, cinematic quality. The song was also envisioned to have an international appeal, something that immediately connected with Bhambri’s musical sensibilities.

“I’ve always been drawn to music that explores the messier, more complicated sides of human emotions, and Toxic gave me a lot of room to play with that,” she said.

Bhambri approached the recording by stepping into the personality of the song. According to her, the track demanded confidence, playfulness and a sense of danger, which she tried to bring into her vocals. She also experimented with a more conversational delivery in certain portions, creating the feeling of teasing the listener rather than simply singing to them.

Her collaboration with Vishal Mishra was another important part of the experience. Bhambri said working with him taught her how seemingly small vocal choices can completely change the emotion of a song.

“One of the biggest things I learnt was how much can change through tiny decisions in a recording, whether it’s the way you pronounce a word, where you breathe, how much attitude you put into a line or how restrained you choose to be,” she said.

Despite the scale of Toxic and the fact that the film stars Yash, Bhambri said she tried not to overthink the magnitude of the project while recording.

“Honestly, I was in disbelief. It took the longest time for me to register that I’m getting to be a part of this film,” she said. “At the same time, I tried not to overthink the grandiose nature of the project while recording. I focused on what the song meant to me and I tried to give my best both while writing the lyrics and singing the song.”

The English track also reflects what Bhambri sees as the increasingly fluid nature of Indian film music. She believes different languages can coexist within a soundtrack when they organically complement the story and its characters.

“An English song can bring a slightly different texture, attitude and cultural flavour to a film, especially when the story itself has a certain global, international or contemporary aesthetic,” she said, adding that Toxic does not feel like an English song simply inserted into the film but one that reflects the personality of its characters and world.

As an independent artist, Bhambri also sees the project as an opportunity to bring her existing musical identity into mainstream cinema. Rather than trying to make the track sound exactly like her independent music, she focused on finding an overlap between her artistic sensibilities and the film’s creative universe.

Her album Shoharat, released a year ago, explored dark-pop sounds and vocals, while her independent catalogue of around 40-45 songs has allowed her to explore themes including obsession, heartbreak, anger, desire, revenge and complicated relationships.

“My own fascination and love for dark pop made this feel like a hand-in-glove situation,” she said.

Bhambri also credited Mishra and Mohandas for giving her the creative freedom to express her artistry through the song.

“I got the complete creative freedom to write and express my artistry in the song. It takes another level of trust and I couldn’t be more grateful to both Vishal and Geetu for creating space for me to bring a piece of me to the song,” she said.

The singer-songwriter hopes projects such as Toxic can create more opportunities for independent musicians with distinctive voices and songwriting identities to enter mainstream cinema.

“I really hope so. The lines between independent music and mainstream music are becoming much more fluid, which is really exciting,” she said.

With Toxic, Bhambri says she has been encouraged to dream bigger. Going forward, she hopes to continue moving between independent music and film projects while experimenting with genres and different forms of storytelling.

“I want to continue writing and making music that feels distinctly mine, while also exploring different worlds and collaborators,” she said. “It could be dark pop but it could also be rock, or blues or anything, as long as it is still me and comes from the heart. Excited for my new era.”